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On November 28, in partnership with the city of Las Vegas and Zappos.com, the Downtown Vegas Alliance (The Alliance), hosted its semi-annual Successes and Insights community forum. Nearly 200 people gathered at Zappos.com headquarters to hear from national, regional and local leaders on the future of urban mobility. Dr. Joshua Schank, chief innovation officer for the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro), shared insights and lessons learned from highly trafficked, densely congested L.A. County. Debs Schrimmer, senior transportation policy manager at Lyft, followed Dr. Schank and shared the Lyft 2.0 vision and spoke specifically about Lyft programs in downtown Las Vegas. Both Schank and Schrimmer joined RTC general manager, Tina Quigley, and city of Las Vegas program manager, Joanna Wadsworth for a panel discussion about Southern Nevada transportation issues and initiatives. The event was generously sponsored by Zappos.com, a Downtown Vegas Alliance member and major employer in the downtown area. To read more about the event, please see recent articles published in the Las Vegas Sun and the Las Vegas Review Journal. Photo: Left to Right: Tina Quigley, RTC general manager; Joanna Wadsworth, city of Las Vegas program manager; Dr. Joshua Schank, chief innovation officer for the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) and Debs Schrimmer, senior transportation policy manager at Lyft. Read More

NOVEMBER 28 SUCCESSES & INSIGHTS PUBLIC AND PRIVATE SECTOR PERSPECTIVES ON THE FUTURE OF DOWNTOWN MOBILITY The Downtown Vegas Alliance in partnership with the city of Las Vegas, Zappos.com and Urban Land Institute presents a free public forum on the future of urban mobility featuring national industry leaders and a panel of local experts. Wednesday, November 28, 2018 Council Chambers at Zappos Headquarters 400 Stewart Ave. Las Vegas, NV 89101 5:00 p.m. Registration 5:30 p.m. Program 7:00 p.m. Complimentary Cocktail Reception Featured speakers will include: Dr. Joshua Schank, Chief Innovation Officer for the Los Angeles Metro Transportation Authority. Dr. Schank is a highly sought-after speaker on the future of mobility and is leading Los Angeles in innovative directions to ensure the continued success of their regional economy. Debs Schrimmer, Transportation Policy Manager from Lyft. Debs is another highly sought-after speaker, and will talk about how the private sector is viewing the future of mobility in downtown areas, including what Lyft is doing right here in Las Vegas. Tina Quigley, General Manager, RTC of Southern Nevada, the leader of our own regional transportation efforts. Joanna Wadsworth, Program Manager, City of Las Vegas, the leader of the City’s Downtown Loop and Autonomous Vehicle initiatives. Mayor Carolyn Goodman will join us for opening remarks, and there will be a reception after the event sponsored by our good friends at Zappos. Free parking: Zappos lot on 7th and Stewart Ave. Shuttle service provided by the Downtown Loop. RSVP to dva@downtown.vegas Click here to download the e-vite. Read More

Learning about Phoenix’s efforts to address homelessness Two weeks ago, I had the privilege of joining Councilman Cedric Crear as he visited Phoenix to learn about that city’s efforts to address homelessness. As you know, Councilman Crear represents most of the Downtown area on the City Council, and he represents the Corridor of Hope, the region’s primary center for human services related to homelessness. Councilman Crear is really digging into this issue because he wants to find solutions that improve the business climate and quality of life for the residents of downtown and historic West Las Vegas. Phoenix is about twice the size of Las Vegas, yet it has half the homeless population. This really struck me as I toured the area. How has a city of this size, with many characteristics similar to Las Vegas, managed the issue of homelessness? And what can we learn from them? In Phoenix, we met with City officials, service providers, and the business community, and we asked them questions about how they did it. Here’s what we learned: More than 30 years ago, city leaders and the business community in downtown Phoenix made a commitment to build a safe, clean, and vibrant downtown area. Led by the investment of many business leaders (including Jerry Colangelo, the owner of the Arizona Diamondbacks, the Phoenix Coyotes, and the former president of the Phoenix Suns), the business community created Downtown Phoenix, Inc., a group not unlike the DVA In partnership with the City of Phoenix and Maricopa County, the Business Community pooled their resources and helped to build the Phoenix Human Services Campus west of downtown. The county bought the land, the business community raised money for buildings, philanthropy helped with supportive services, and the City, using federal and local funds, helps to sustain the services. Today, the campus is home to more than a dozen nonprofit service organizations Read More

This is an exciting time to join the Downtown Las Vegas Alliance and add your voice to our collective effort to better the downtown Las Vegas community. We are actively involved in seeking solutions and opportunities around homelessness, development, arts and culture, transportation and more. If you operate a business or nonprofit with interests in the downtown Las Vegas area, please join the 70+ Alliance members in shaping the future of our city. Email dva@downtown.veas to get started. WHO WE ARE The Downtown Vegas Alliance is a member-driven 501(c)6 nonprofit organization with more than 70 diverse members devoted to creating an attractive, vibrant, diverse and sustainable downtown Las Vegas. PRIORITIES The Alliance works independently and alongside partners to constantly improve the experience of residents, workers and visitors in Downtown Las Vegas. Our near and long-term priorities are: Promoting downtown and its diverse offerings Ensuring our streets are safe and clean Improving ways to get into and around downtown Expanding business and economic development Creating great public spaces and experiences FOCUS AREAS Serve as a voice for downtown, promoting its continued growth and advocating for improvements Host an array of small and large events that engage stakeholders and bring members together to strengthen downtown Lead initiatives and support others to make downtown a great place to live, work and play BENEFITS Shaping the future of downtown through input and decision-making Opportunities to meet and develop relationships with those who are most invested in downtown Recognition for taking a leadership position in committing to downtown Las Vegas Building community through more than a dozen annual events Email dva@downtown.vegas to learn more or refer to our Membership Application in pdf format or fill out the online app. Read More

The Downtown Vegas Alliance hosted its latest Successes & Insights event on Homelessness, sponsored by Bank of America. More than 150 people attended the event, and we had participation from ten nonprofit organizations at our impact fair. There was great press coverage of the event, and you can read all about it in the Las Vegas Review-Journal, the Nevada Independent and El Tiempo, as well as radio and TV coverage on KNPR, KLAS Channel 8, KXNT, and KVVU Channel 5. At the event, we heard a lot about the City of Las Vegas’s Corridor and Courtyard of Hope. We also heard from panelists that mental health, addiction treatment, housing, and jobs are all necessary to reduce the amount of homelessness in Downtown Las Vegas. Homelessness is not something that one city can handle alone. Homelessness is a regional issue, and the City, the County, the State, and the business community all need to work together to ensure success for our community. Be assured that the DVA will continue to work with the City and other stakeholders on comprehensive solutions to homelessness, and we will engage our members like never before to ensure that solutions work for Downtown. The DVA received more than a dozen questions at the event online and through email, and we couldn’t answer them all at the event. You can click here to see the answers to some of these questions. Thanks so much for your support of the Downtown Vegas Alliance and your interest in the homelessness issue. If you have additional questions or would like to inquire about membership in the DVA, please shoot me an email at dva@downtown.vegas Mike Vannozzi Executive Director Downtown Vegas Alliance Photo: Panelists at the Successes & Insights event on May 3, 2018. From Left to Right: Moderator Mike Vannozzi, Executive Director of Downtown Vegas Alliance; Keynote Speaker Kenny Wilson, President and CEO Read More

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DF: Downtown was great as a kid and it is even greater as an adult. I love all of downtown’s hidden gems, its vibrancy, history and sense of connection. Rae is relatively newer to Las Vegas, but just as passionate about downtown. Downtown lends itself to the shared experience, and as a couple we both love seeing this part of the city through each other's eyes. Photo: Lucky Wenzel

- Dayvid Figler and Rae Lathrop

Some of the best nights I’ve experienced started out with no plan other than walking around to check out what’s going on. The great thing about having so many bars and restaurants downtown is the ability to move around if you’re not feeling the vibe in one place. There are plenty of options just outside the door. Photo: Lucky Wenzel

- Rob Ponte

The downtown Las Vegas of today has much to attract residents - a burgeoning restaurant and nightlife scene, growing diversity of businesses, and major centers of art and culture. Plus, living downtown I am easily within walking or biking distance of it all. Photo: Lucky Wenzel

- Brandon Wiegand

It is always a pleasure to deal with the city of Las Vegas’ economic development department. The staff is really interested in helping create a positive business environment to work with.

- Hank Gordon, Chairman of Laurich Properties

As our company continues its rapid growth, we quickly realized the need to set up a formal U.S. headquarters. We explored multiple cities and were about to make the move to San Francisco, and then we heard about the complete reinvention of downtown Las Vegas. Coming from China where things are booming and growing, we love that downtown Vegas now has a similar vibe of energy and change. Not only is there an exciting tech community here and much lower costs than the Bay Area, but we love the fact that almost every industry group brings their conventions to our front door once a year.

- Jonathan Jenkins, Founder & CEO of OrderWithMe

We love the vibrancy and energy of Las Vegas, and downtown is at the heart of it all. That's why we've launched our mobile platform with a focus on downtown. This is an exciting time in Las Vegas history, where community, commerce and technology are all converging at once. Downtown is our city's hidden gem.

- Andy Hsieh, Owner of Lux Delux

We chose to relocate from the suburbs to downtown for several reasons. Our brand image and that of downtown’s mesh perfectly. The new downtown Las Vegas reflects a more hip, startup, social media-style image. Additionally, downtown’s emerging technology corridor, anchored by Zappos, is an environment that enhances our ability to recruit the types of technical skill sets required for our continued growth and success.

I think downtown Las Vegas is a unique blend of intimacy and great energy. Plus, in contrast to The Strip, it’s so easy to walk around…The Golden Gate has been here for over 100 years and with all the changes going on downtown, it feels like a new era. It truly is a renaissance—the rebirth of a classic.

- Mark Brandenburg, President of Golden Gate

The city has been great in helping us with the licensing and procedures necessary to start a business. There hasn't been a brewery built in the city of Las Vegas for probably 10 years. So for them it hasn't been a typical ‘cut and paste’ thing. We're something different. It was a team work process to get us opened – a lot of talk and listening on both sides. And now the city started opening up the doors for other breweries once we were up and running. Good news for us and good news for the future.
(Photo: Lucky Wenzel)

The city and the department of economic development have been very helpful to us and all the other downtown business owners. It’s such a community here, and everyone asks you what you need. That kind of help launching a business is amazing and priceless.

- Meghan Mossler, Owner of Stitch Factory

The city is so supportive of new businesses. Things are popping up constantly.
(Photo: Lucky Wenzel)

- Pamela Dylag, Co-owner of Velveteen Rabbit

Downtown is becoming very much in demand…there’s a limited supply. Run fast, don’t walk.

- Marc Abelman, CFO & Co-owner of Inside Style

For a while, downtown was one of the only places in the valley you would see cranes when you drove around. It was nice that city government stepped up and the private sector married with the public sector to create amazing projects that filled the gap. That was very important for us.

- Sam Cherry, CEO of Cherry Development

Our business is booming amid the foot traffic on Fremont Street, and we’ve started to see how tourists are falling in love with downtown as they discover it. In the past year, we’re increasingly hearing things like, ‘Wow, next time we’ll stay downtown instead of on The Strip,’ or ‘We’ve visited downtown many times, but this is the first year we’ve actually stayed in a downtown hotel.’ They like that there is more to do within a smaller walking radius.

- Johnny Jimenez, Owner of Toy Shack of Las Vegas

Historically, downtown Las Vegas has not been a top destination for many locals, but in recent years… that trend is reversing itself. Given all the recent openings and progress, there’s much to explore and experience downtown.

- Rich Worthington, President and CEO of The Molasky Group of Companies